Teramit's Brutal First Day
Having come to his senses on his first day in the squad, Teramit read the letter from Lutisat placed before him. The contents were straightforward: a reprimand for recklessly using magic while hanging out with thugs, and an order to stay with Nautilus's rehabilitation squad until the resulting problems were resolved.
At first, he didn't pay much mind to Lutisat's letter. Mages were valuable elite personnel wherever they went, and he was confident no one would treat someone like him carelessly.
"Finished reading?"
The man who had knocked him out—a dog beastman who looked like a knight or perhaps a quasi-knight—asked. Teramit puffed out his chest arrogantly and replied.
"Where am I staying?"
"Hmm, before I show you your quarters, you need to watch your attitude first."
"Hmph, don't worry. I'll behave while I'm here."
"No, no, you still don't get it. More politely."
Heukgu's tone was like coaxing a child, causing Teramit's red eyebrows to shoot up.
"Just because you beat me doesn't mean you can treat me like dirt!"
Unable to hold back his rage even at those words, Teramit flared his mana. Seeing this, Heukgu recalled his own past self—the days when he only cared about face and pride, ignoring the damage and losses inflicted on others. A mix of nostalgia, shame, and irritation washed over him.
"Sigh, seems you're under some delusion. You're not a guest here; you're a new recruit in the rehab squad."
"What the hell does that mean?"
Heukgu remembered his mission as Teramit continued his arrogant attitude: help Teramit adapt well to the rehab squad. Suhyun's orders had kept him on standby without even using his vacation slip. Barely suppressing his anger at Teramit's cheeky glare, Heukgu noted that if trouble arose, Suhyun would come beat him personally—self-regulating his fury.
"It means I'm your senior."
"Ha! You, who doesn't even know the 'ma' in magic?"
Heukgu's patience snapped at Teramit's mocking sneer—unfairly handsome and utterly obnoxious.
"What confidence does a loser who got dragged here after playing thug have? Still think this is the mage tower, you retard?"
"Wh-what! You filthy worm, do you know who I am?!"
With no self-control—not even as much as a thug's conscience—Teramit reflexively surged his mana for an attack spell. Heukgu countered with Gold Na Su.
Gold Na Su () - Giant Snake Subduing Object ()
As if he'd anticipated it, Teramit smirked obnoxiously and tried to evade Heukgu's hand with a mirage haze. But he gasped in shock as Heukgu tore through the haze and closed in.
Inside the massive sand furnace-like Saramar Desert, enduring dehydration and extreme heat, he'd grasped the principle of mirages: a power that distorted perception and threw off aim. To resist the Scorching Mirage spell, which replicated illusions via fire mysteries, required immense resistance or mental fortitude.
Born with potent innate mana and chosen by fire mysteries, Teramit believed only a formal mage-level resistance could counter his Scorching Mirage—not even a grain of sand's worth for Heukgu. But Heukgu's mind, tempered daily in Suhyun's training like repeated dips in the underworld's Styx, was extraordinary. In mental strength, he rivaled formal mages or knights!
Heukgu's hand snapped Teramit's arm, slamming his full weight onto the shoulder to pin him to the floor.
Teramit, collapsing as if tripping himself with no counter, tried to summon flames to engulf his body. But Heukgu wasn't watching idly. He wrenched the arm further, causing Teramit to botch the spell in agony and scream.
"Argh! Master Lutisat!"
"Lutisat sent you here himself."
"N-no, you're lying!"
"You read the letter. 'Welcome to the rehab squad, asshole!' "
Lutisat's Letter Excerpt:
"Welcome to the rehab squad, asshole!"
Watching Teramit scream in pain, Heukgu felt the stress from him melt away, grinning. Thinking of his own past suffering now shared made him feel great.
─────
All Nautilus rehab squad members had to learn martial arts, and Teramit was no exception. Changed into the squad's rough garb, Teramit listened to Heukgu explain the arts.
The first, Pure Refinement Technique, lived up to its name of "proper tempering," adjusting the body. It fixed imbalances, twisted bones and muscles from poor posture—especially from black magic transplants of monster organs.
These organs naturally clashed with human flesh, but practicing Pure Refinement Technique reduced rejection, assimilating them. Highly effective and fast, but the side effect was excruciating pain.
"Gaaah!"
Straightening a bent spine felt like shattering and resetting bones; unkinking muscles was like forced cramps.
"Kuhk!"
Squad members with transplants endured pain scraping necrotic, inflamed dead cells and blood from nerves. But enduring built unbreakable bodies that thrived on hard labor.
After refining the body with Pure Refinement Technique, next was Purification Technique. Using inner power from the dantian, it washed out tainted mana, forming nonexistent channels and meridians while scraping embedded mana—causing immense agony.
Like drilling awls through living flesh to carve paths, scraping tainted mana near channels felt like wiring nerves and yanking.
"Grrgh!"
Purification Technique's quirk: perfect focus reduced pain. Mistakes in other arts caused internal injuries, but here it was just pain—ideal practice for inner power control. Yet squad members lacked patience and focus.
Mastering it required enduring agony repeatedly; even succeeding meant intentionally botching to widen, toughen channels, and speed flow—expelling tainted mana for smoother, stronger inner power.
Finally, after both, Righteous Soul Technique tempered the mind, clearing it and building mental strength. The only painless basic art, but least effective.
"This is what you need to learn."
Teramit's face filled with terror at Heukgu's words.
"I-I gotta run from here!"
The squad's training was effective and fast but torturous. Terrified by screams more genuine than his victims' burnings, Teramit tried fleeing—but a frail mage's body couldn't escape Heukgu's Gold Na Su.
"You didn't choose to enter; you won't choose to leave."
"Urk, let go!"
He tried magic on Heukgu's grip, but Suhyun's taught Gold Na Su wasn't mere joint lock.
Gold Na Su () - Snake Venom Coagulating Blood ()
Heukgu's inner power flowed into Teramit's wrist via Gold Na Su, solidifying mana flow.
"Kuhk!"
The sudden mana jam backlashed, making Teramit vomit blood and collapse.
"Whoa, puking that much already? You're gonna love Purification Technique!"
"Grrgh... mercy... someone..."
"Don't worry, I'll toughen you right up."
Others' pain is my joy. Heukgu diligently taught the three basics, and clever mage Teramit picked them up fast. Then endless cycles: Pure Refinement Technique wrecked the body to extremes, Purification Technique scoured channels/meridians in the battered flesh, Righteous Soul Technique stabilized the frayed mind.
This infinite loop was the squad's proven stable method—preventing breakdown but inflicting hellish pain on Teramit. Rehabbers deserved punishment, and Suhyun ignored their suffering.
Mentally shattered by repetition, Teramit crawled to the mess hall at mealtime under Heukgu's lead.
Seeing the slop ladled out, he gagged.
"Urk, you call this food?"
"I get it's gross, but it's good for you."
The formless porridge from boiled scraps reeked terribly. Teramit wanted to dump it, but couldn't—Pure Refinement Technique demanded nutrients to heal tissues, and his gut churned for it.
"Skip it tomorrow and it'll hurt more. Pinch your nose and chug."
Eyes squeezed shut, Teramit gulped past his tongue. Slimy, sticky, clinging horror coated his mouth, vile taste assaulting tongue and nose—like sewer sludge. Gagging but swallowing, he staggered back to training.
Finishing evening after endless basics, Teramit flopped into the squad dorm—like stacked barrels for heads. On the thin hemp blanket and hard floor, today's daze and pain made tomorrow hit: tears welled. He missed his room by Lutisat's office, warm bedding, soft bed—even castle meals he'd whined about. But trapped in the squad, no escape. The first day in this new hell slipped away.
─────
Ridiculous to worry about sleeping on rough clothes and hard bed—eyes shut, Teramit passed out instantly. Jerked awake by nightmare horns, yesterday's hell real, he teared up screaming.
"Urgh, what dogshit noise is this?!"
Suhyun's enchanted reveille blared. Furious, Teramit saw busy squad members. Still groggy, Heukgu beside him prodded.
"Up! Morning roll call."
"Wh-what's that?!"
"Sigh, just fold your shit and move."
Glancing at Heukgu neatly folding, Teramit's blanket flopped shapeless unlike the crisp box-fold.
"Can't even fold a blanket?"
Heukgu, done with his, shoved Teramit aside and folded his—slow demo earlier now a snap: shake midair, fold into brick. Stunned, Teramit heard Heukgu gravely.
"Listen up: mornings are war for the squad."
"What bullshit?"
"Damn it! Hurry!"
Horns blared, sandglass nearly empty—Heukgu dragged Teramit to the training grounds.
Squad already lined perfectly, ranks precise. Heukgu placed Teramit at the rear, dashed front, scanned faces/numbers, bellowed.
"Morning roll! Out on duty 7, injured 2, leave 12—present 31! Ready!"
"Huh? One more?"
A plain-looking man asked; Heukgu barked crisply.
"New recruit joined yesterday!"
"Yeah? What'd he do?"
"Lutisat's student—caused trouble, sent here!"
"Suhyun'll handle it. Morning drill: footrace, first-come."
Squad snapped to attention, arms right-angled, roaring.
"Yes sir!"
All moved as one; Teramit fumbled late.
"First 20, how many?"
"20!"
"Voice weak! First 18, how many?"
"18!"
Squad screamed inner-power blasts to rupture eardrums; Teramit wondered why so desperate.
"Run!"
"Yes sir!"
They surged with full inner power; sole leftover Teramit stood dumb.
"Not running?"
"Why should I?"
"Newbie, huh? First-come stamps survivors..."
Even hearing, Teramit shrugged cluelessly.
"Whatever, you'll learn."
Man dismissed him. Heukgu, full sprint inner-powered, steamed hot.
"Huff... you didn't run?!"
"Why should I?"
Pitying Teramit's defiance, Heukgu pitied him. Soon Teramit understood the frenzy.
"Nice to meet ya. Lutisat talked lots about you."
Teramit trembled before the man with overwhelming mana. His violent all-consuming flames paled against this abyss-swallowing depth. His mystery urged incineration, but before Suhyun, it cowered in primal fear.
"Th-then, I beg you end this unfair treatment at once."
Teramit thought polite; Suhyun smirked at Heukgu beside.
"Heukgu, comfy lately?"
"No sir!"
"Why's your junior whining?"
"Sorry sir!"
"Gotta do this myself?"
"No sir!"
"Inside or outside?"
"No sir!"
"What'd I say, Heukgu?"
"Help new recruit adapt!"
"But he ain't adapted—skipped the race."
"I'll fix it!"
"Help the dimwit. Love your junior, yeah? Today I'll demo teaching—watch close."
"Yes sir!"
Sensing doom, Teramit froze.
"Lutisat said you're lazy, can't control temper?"
"S-stay back! I'll report to the tower formally!"
"No worry—I got the cure for your type. Always worked."
Terror gripped Teramit at Suhyun wielding the wooden club labeled Spirit Injection Rod.
◈ For stubborn cases like Lucy or Heukgu
Unlike with Lucy or Heukgu, no reflexive spell—Suhyun's grip paralyzed thought. Experiencing "barbaric" violence's pain hands-on, beaten senseless, Suhyun's words rang as Teramit blacked out.
"If words fail, beat 'em straight."
"Yes sir!"
'Such a brute...'
Teramit passed out feeling sweat-blood-tears streak his eyes.